Top 10 best things to see and do in Botswana

By The Luxury Travel Expert on September 9, 2024

Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire.

Today: Top 10 best things to see and do in Botswana

From the dramatic landscape of the Okavango Delta to the enormous elephant herds in the Chobe National Park, Botswana boasts some of Africa's most beautiful nature reserves and an array of exceptional wildlife. To embark on a Botswana safari (and the holiday of a lifetime) is to venture far off the beaten track into the untamed heart of Africa, where astonishing landscapes are the background of thrilling big game encounters. Here's my list of the top 10 best things to see and do in Botswana, Africa's most exclusive safari destination.

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10. VISIT THE HEART OF THE KALAHARI DESERT

The magnificent expanse of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a not-to-be-missed attraction when embarking on a Botswana safari. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest reserve in the world and by far the most remote reserve in southern Africa, offering almost exclusive wildlife safaris. Extending over 52,800 sq km (32,808 sq mi) of arid bushveld, the reserve is home to rhino, black-maned lion and desert-adapted elephants, among other striking game species. During the dryer months, the Kalahari reveals wide, desolate pans, which offer exceptional photographic opportunities. The reserve is well-known for providing awe-inspiring stargazing experiences as well as for its most notable attractions such as Deception Valley, the Sunday and Leopard Pans, Passage Valley and Piper's Pan.

9. FLY OVER THE OKAVANGO DELTA IN A HELICOPTER

Scenic helicopter flights over the Okavango Delta's majestic landscapes perfectly illustrate its raw and spectacular beauty. With many of the Delta's most remote areas not reachable in any other way, an aerial perspective is the ideal way to gaze onto the vast Delta and its meandering labyrinth of crystal-clear channels. The incredible diversity and amount of wildlife encountered in the Delta becomes clear from above. Soar above pods of hippo sleeping the day away in the depths of a lagoon, watch a herd of elephants slowly amble along open grasslands or marvel at the fleet moves of red lechwe antelope as they leap through a fringe of papyrus reeds in the shallows. Keen photographers can choose to have the doors removed from the helicopter, allowing for unrestricted views and photographs of the spectacular panorama stretching below.

8. WITNESS AFRICA'S LARGEST ZEBRA MIGRATION AT NXAI PAN

Nxai Pan National Park is set on the northern fringe of Botswana's Makgadikgadi basin and includes Nxai Pan, an ancient lake bed that was once part of the vast Lake Makgadikgadi. Unlike the salt-encrusted pans at Makgadikgadi, Nxai Pan is a waterless, fossil pan covered in grass with acacia islands. The area comes to life after the summer rains in December, when Nxai Pan gets covered in lush green grass. This attracts enormous concentrations of Burchell's zebra, blue wildebeest and springbok, while healthy numbers of other grazers include gemsbok, eland and red hartebeest. The Chobe River to Nxai Pan National Park zebra migration is now the longest known mammal movement in Africa, even outnumbering the well-known seasonal wildebeest journey in the Serengeti.

7. EXPLORE BOTSWANA'S ICONIC CHOBE NATIONAL PARK

Covering almost 11,000 sq km (6,836 sq miles), Chobe was Botswana's first national park and remains one of its best, boasting the biggest concentration of wildlife in Africa. An oasis in a dry, at times desolate region, Chobe National Park's Chobe River offers an irreplaceable lifeline to the reserve's wildlife. In the mid- to late-afternoon, elephants comes down to the Chobe River's banks, some small in number and others counting in the hundreds. Large herds of buffalo are found along the Chobe riverfront and grazing on the islands, crossing from one to the other or back to the mainland. Special game sightings include the indigenous and endangered puku antelope that can only be seen along the Chobe River banks. Chobe National Park is Botswana's most accessible park to self-drive around.

6. GLIDE THROUGH THE OKAVANGO DELTA IN A MOKORO

A highlight for many travelers in Botswana is to glide through the Okavango Delta's maze of clear channels and opaque lagoons on traditionally made mokoro boats, sitting mere centimetres above the water as you silently pass by unsuspecting wildlife. The mokoro boats were traditionally hand carved out of the huge Okavango Delta trees, but they are now made out of environmentally friendly fibre-glass in an effort to adopt sustainable practices in the region. Guests sit in front of a trained guide and oarsman, who stands firm at the boat's stern, manually propelling the vessel with a ngashi pole, whittled from the branches of terminalia trees. Sitting just above the water, guests are propelled through the reeds, silently pass by unsuspecting wildlife, such as grazing herds of red lechwe on palm islands or wading hippos nearby.